Computer-Managed Maintenance Systems: A Step-by-Step Guide to Effective Management of Maintenance, Labor, and Inventory

America

Preface

Effective resource management and reliable equipment are essential for optimum plant performance. Both depend upon accurate, timely management of massive amounts of data and on the effective use of maintenance resources. Computer-managed maintenance systems (CMMS), also called computerized maintenance management systems or computerized asset management systems (CAMS), are designed to fulfill these needs. These systems can provide a cost-effective means of managing the massive amounts of data that are generated by maintenance, inventory control, and purchasing. In addition, these systems can provide the means to manage effectively both the human and capital resources in your plant or facility.

For those planning to implement a CMMS in the future, this book will provide a comprehensive, step-by-step guide that will help you to: (1) develop functional specifications that match your needs; (2) select the right system and vendor; (3) develop a project plan that will minimize risks and ensure cost-effective, timely implementation; (4) create a justification package that will gain management support; (5) develop employee involvement and training programs that will ensure effective use of the system; and (6) develop a long-term plan that will promote continuation of the system.

Unfortunately, too many attempted CMMS implementations fail to achieve their full potential or are abandoned after a few years. If you have attempted to implement a CMMS and failed, or if your system failed to deliver the expected benefits, this book is a must. It will provide all the information you need to salvage your CMMS program so that it can achieve its full potential and will show you how to identify the problems that limit success and how to resolve them.

This book is designed to address the information needs of all levels of plant management. For senior plant or corporate managers, it will provide a clear, factual understanding of CMMS that can be used to minimize financial risks and maximize the benefits that this type of system can provide. For maintenance and inventory control managers and their staffs, the book provides all the information they need to implement a successful, effective system. Topics include:

DETERMINING THE NEED FOR A CMMS

How do you know if you need a CMMS? What questions need to be answered before you make the decision? This section will give insight into making this determination. A CMMS may not be for everyone.

SELLING THE PROGRAM

This section prepares you for one of the most difficult of all tasks in the purchase of a CMMS—selling the program to management, peers, and the hourly workforce. Selling is a daily activity for all of us, whether we realize it or not. The better we are at selling, the more successful we will be in all our endeavors. Learn the tricks of the trade used by sales professionals.

DEFINITION OF A CMMS

This overview defines functions of a CMMS and discusses who uses the CMMS and how they use it. It also discusses the benefits that can be derived from a fully implemented program. Finally, it describes the fundamental requirements of a total system that will produce maximum return on investment, as well as the most common reasons a CMMS program fails and ways to avoid these pitfalls.

CMMS JUSTIFICATION

A step-by-step approach is presented for developing a justification package for a CMMS. This approach includes development of several key documents, including the functional specification necessary for vendor selection and the cost-benefit analysis that can be critical for gaining management approval for procurement and implementation of a CMMS.

CMMS VENDOR SELECTION

There are several hundred active CMMS vendors worldwide. Their offerings range from very simple work order generation systems to very complex, fully integrated enterprise systems. The total price for these systems can range from less than $1,000 to more than $1 million for installation at a single site. In this section, you will receive detailed instructions that will help you select the right system and vendor to meet your specific needs and objectives.

PROJECT IMPLEMENTATION

Developing a comprehensive project implementation plan and following the plan are the two key factors in guaranteeing successful implementation of a CMMS and providing the infrastructure that will permit long-term continuance of the system. The implementation plan begins with development of the software, hardware, and installation requirements. It also covers user training, database development, and system start-up. The entire implementation plan should be developed, reviewed, and approved before a system is selected. As with most plans of this magnitude, revisions will be required as the project progresses, but you should not begin the project without first having developed a complete implementation plan.

INTEGRATING OR INTERFACING A CMMS WITH OTHER SYSTEMS

Often it is necessary to connect your CMMS with other systems, which may be either developed in-house or purchased from a third party. The two options for creating this connection are integrating and interfacing systems. We will discuss the circumstances under which each of the two actions is appropriate.

CMMS AND CLIENT SERVER

For the past few years, client server technology has become an important component of many types of computer systems, including maintenance systems. This section helps define client server and related features and their role in a CMMS.

WHY A CMMS FAILS

There are many reasons why a CMMS may fail to meet the expectations of the user. But very seldom is the CMMS itself, rather than human error, the culprit. Perhaps there was very little preparation and research done before selecting a CMMS, or limited involvement by management and the work force in the selection process; the system may have been simply installed rather than fully implemented; training may have been minimal; or incorrect or insufficient data may have been entered. Any one of these mistakes can result in a less than successful experience and a great deal of frustration on the part of those who are expected to use the system.

HOW TO ASSURE SUCCESS

After the CMMS is purchased, implemented, and operational, how can you assure that it will be successful and that the return on investment will justify the expenditures? This section will discuss how organizations other than maintenance can affect the final outcome of the CMMS implementation and their role in assuring success. It will also discuss the obstacles facing both small and large plants as they seek to gain maximum benefit from the CMMS.

Chapter 1

Determining the Need and Selling the Program

DETERMINING THE NEED

THE NEW VIEW OF MAINTENANCE PRODUCTIVITY

In today’s environment, maintenance costs are rising faster than production costs. Some surveys have shown that, at many plants, typical management goals for maintenance—such as 95% or better equipment availability and reliability, 99% product quality, reduced maintenance overtime hours, reduced contract labor hours, and improved record keeping on repairs—are not being met. Maintenance has tended to be viewed as a black hole where too much money goes with little measurable return. But as most companies find themselves looking for ways to reduce cost and increase productivity, management is beginning to realize that maintenance offers real opportunities in both areas.

Maintenance can account for as much as 60% of controllable plant operating costs. Because maintenance costs can be not only controlled, but often substantially reduced, efficient management of maintenance can influence the bottom line much more than is usually realized. All cost savings in maintenance are, in actuality, cost avoidance. For example, if the profit margin in a manufacturing plant is 33%, it would require $3.00 in increased sales to equal a $1.00 savings in maintenance costs. Normally, it is much easier to reduce maintenance costs than to increase sales.

Controlling the maintenance activities in any facility requires an effective organization. Also required is an accurate, comprehensive, easily accessible database of relevant information. Some maintenance organizations still manage their operations with a manual system or with no system at all. In all but the smallest of maintenance operations, manual systems break down under the burden of the vast amount of information generated and required by maintenance. For this reason, the computer is now being recognized as a powerful tool for maintenance. Only a computer has the ability to store, retrieve, calculate, organize, and present vast amounts of data efficiently and accurately.

It is highly unlikely that any organization with at least ten maintenance craft personnel or an annual maintenance budget of $500,000 or more will not benefit from a computer-managed maintenance system, or CMMS. Smaller organizations can benefit as well if they can justify the implementation cost. A CMMS can be purchased for as little as a thousand dollars or as much as several hundred thousand. But the purchase price is only a portion of the total implementation cost. Other costs include hardware, networking, training, data collection, data entry, and procedure development. Many of these costs, such as data collection and data entry, may be internal labor costs and can be very high. All costs must be considered in justifying the purchase. Chapter 3, CMMS Justification, provides an in-depth look at how to justify the implementation of a CMMS.

DETERMINING THE NEED FOR A CMMS

There are many factors to consider in determining whether a CMMS can benefit your operation. The most important factors mrelate to reduced cost, but you also need to consider such results as better organizational methods, reduced paperwork, and improved communications. From a cost standpoint, if planned maintenance work is less than 90% of the total maintenance work load, if craft productivity is less than 80% of capacity, or if craft overtime is more than 10%, a CMMS can help you. If your finished product quality is consistently less than 95% or your equipment availability is less than 95%, a CMMS can help you. If your maintenance inventory cost, including holding cost, is more than 30% of your annual maintenance budget, a CMMS can help you. If all of the above conditions apply to your operation, a CMMS can probably work miracles for you. This assumes that you implement the CMMS that is best suited to your needs, that you implement it fully and properly, and that you use it to its fullest extent. In Chapter 2, Definition of a CMMS, we will discuss how a CMMS can help you improve these measures of efficiency. For now, the point is that if you are not achieving the benchmark criteria shown in Appendix D, you will very definitely reap the rewards of a CMMS.

HOW A CMMS MEETS THE NEED

First and foremost, it will help you to better manage maintenance by organizing and tracking the myriad of data required to run maintenance operations effectively. Examples of such data are work schedules and backlogs; preventive maintenance plans and schedules; labor use; and maintenance cost distribution. A CMMS will also track materials used, including quantities and cost. It can control your inventories and maintain optimum, cost-effective levels of parts. It can also provide historical, current, and future information in both summary and detailed